Until the End
by rozozzy
Summary: Max had gone through hell and back for Chloe. And she would do it again, even if it means sacrificing another town and allowing more people to die.


**A/N:** I suggest listening to Spanish Sahara by Foals while reading this.

* * *

As she shreds the photograph of that fateful blue butterfly, Max cannot fully take in the weight of what she's done. Not yet. She can only watch with tired eyes as the storm approaches, ready to consume Arcadia Bay and all who dwell within it. Her breathing slows; a sinking feeling settles into her chest. Max feels Chloe give her hand a tight squeeze. Chloe's thumb moves in gentle circles, caressing her skin. Max finally begins to accept that this is the end for everyone in this forsaken town.

Everyone except for her and Chloe. It's Max and Chloe until the end.

And she wouldn't change a goddamn thing.

Chloe is the only person that matters to Max, the only person who can truly breathe joy into her life. Call it coincidence, call it destiny—it doesn't matter. Chloe reentered her life for a reason. They are meant to be together, in this moment, in the face of all this destruction. Arcadia Bay will be left in ruins.

It's worth it.

All of this is worth it, if it's for Chloe. Max had gone through hell and back for Chloe. And she would do it again, even if it means sacrificing another town and allowing more people to die. Because Max needs Chloe. Max needs her more than anything. She would do anything for Chloe. She can't live without her.

When the storm passes, all it takes is Chloe's touch to help Max move forward. Arcadia Bay is the past.

Max doesn't need that past anymore.

* * *

This time, the storm is much more powerful.

This time, Max and Chloe don't wait and stick around for it when it comes. The instant Max had received another vision of destruction, they both knew what they had to do. And in those few days they had spent preparing for their next destination, Max reminded herself that she made the right choice. To keep Chloe alive is all that is important to her. As long as Chloe is alive, Max can live with the choices she makes.

The death toll is three times larger than that of Arcadia Bay.

* * *

Chloe dies every day.

And every day, Max uses her rewind to save her, again and again. They are already way too deep into this mess to stop it. There is no going back. There is nothing Max can do to reverse all of the damage that has been done. So she will keep protecting Chloe. Even if it hurts her, even if the nosebleeds are bloodier and more frequent, Max will endure it.

This pain means nothing compared to the pain she would feel if she lost Chloe.

* * *

"Category 6 Hurricane Sophia is set to strike the West Coast of the United States within two weeks. People in California, Oregon, and Washington are being advised to evacuate as soon as possible. This is the largest hurricane predicted to hit the Continental United States, breaking the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale with winds over 342 miles per hour. It is the third hurricane to affect California. The tropical cyclone is expected to displace tens of millions people. The United States may be facing a domestic refugee crisis—"

The radio fades into silence as Max lowers the volume. Chloe drives along the lonely highway, her face reflecting quiet dread.

"There's a warning this time, Chloe. People are given time to evacuate. Things will work out this time around."

The hurricane hits the next day.

* * *

"You're hurting yourself, Max."

"I know."

"We're killing everyone around us."

"Yeah."

"Why? All of this death… just for my punk ass?"

"You're all that matters to me, Chloe. I'll sacrifice anyone without hesitation."

"This isn't right, Max. I shouldn't be alive."

"But you are. I won't let anything happen to you. It's you and me until the end."

"Yeah. You're right, Max. Fuck everyone else, right?"

Chloe chokes on her words.

* * *

"Max, I know it's called Tornado Alley for a reason, but this... this is fucking insane."

"What's done is done, Chloe. Let's just move on."

"I think fate wants me dead, Max."

"If fate wanted you dead, it wouldn't have given me the power to save you."

And she will keep saving Chloe. Max doesn't care how many lives need to be sacrificed in order to keep Chloe alive. She is willing to let everyone die for Chloe. It's selfish, yeah, but so what? Max doesn't care. If other people's lives stand in the way of Chloe's, then they cannot live. Max won't let them. It's unfortunate, sure, but Max doesn't care.

She stopped caring a long time ago.

* * *

Chloe doesn't talk much anymore.

Nowadays she seems more lost in thought than anything else. Max does the best she can to make her smile. Every time she unintentionally says something wrong, Max rewinds. She has to limit Chloe's unhappiness as much as possible. It's necessary so that way Chloe can remain the bright Chloe that she is, the same bright Chloe that Max fell in love with and that Max continues to love. If Chloe is unhappy, then Chloe might feel guilty over everything they've allowed to happen.

Max can't have that. She wants for both of them to live together in happiness with no regrets, no hesitations, no looking back.

"I love you, Chloe."

They sit in silence.

* * *

Unnatural disasters rampage throughout the country.

Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Volcanoes. Merciless and unrelenting. Some call it a tragedy. Some call it a force of nature, Mother Earth's revenge. Others say it is the time of reckoning, the apocalypse, an act of God. The news views it as a natural catastrophe. Max cannot wrap her head around it. Does the universe want to take Chloe away from her so much it's willing to wreak havoc until it does? Does Max love Chloe so much she's willing to let it? Even if it means the end of the world itself?

Absolutely.

* * *

Chloe shoots herself in the head after Max fails to convince her otherwise. Max rewinds, hoping to alter the outcome.

Max fails again.

She rewinds again.

She fails. She rewinds. She fails again. She rewinds again. Max repeats the cycle, again and again, watching her best friend die over and over, just as she has been ever since she received her powers. She tries to rewind further back. She can't.

It's now her last chance.

"Chloe, please! You can't do this. I've gone through so much to keep you. I can't lose you again. You are so, _so_ important to me. I love you so much, Chloe. Please, don't do this."

"Max, I am so grateful for everything you've done for me. But this needs to stop. I can't…. I just can't keep living while others keep dying! You've gone against fate time and time again for me. I'm just one person, Max! Think of all the deaths that follow me wherever I go!"

"Fuck them, Chloe! Fuck everyone! You're all that matters now!"

"To _you._ But I'm not the only one that matters!"

"Everyone dies, Chloe. So why does it matter how or when? We've already done so much damage, so what does it matter now? Let's just forget about everyone else and be happy together!"

"I'm not happy Max. God, how can I be fucking _happy_ when I can't even fucking live with myself?"

Max tries to rewind again. She can't.

"I should've died back there in Arcadia Bay, on the goddamn bathroom floor! Then none of this would've happened! Millions of people wouldn't be dead!"

"But you would be dead!"

Chloe shakes her head, her face streaming with tears and her eyes puffy.

"I'm already dead, Max."

The gunshot echoes throughout the snowy forest.

Max's powers return a week later.

* * *

When Max and Chloe had first arrived in California, they had taken a photo together to celebrate the moment. That day had been sunny, bright, and full of life, just like how Chloe used to be. The photo had been placed into the glove compartment of Chloe's truck, along with other photos the two of them had taken together before Chloe descended into her depression.

Max looks at the first photo she had taken with Chloe following Arcadia Bay's demise. She concentrates. Suddenly she is back with Chloe, who is smiling and laughing next to her as they sit in her truck. It's been ages since Max has seen that smile. When the memory fades, Max picks up the next photo. She concentrates, and again, is taken back to a better time.

Max travels into each of these photos, reliving those moments with Chloe again and again. As long as she has those photos, as long as she has her powers, she will always be with Chloe.

And Chloe will always be with her.

* * *

"Max Caulfield, I still can't believe you chose my sorry ass over Arcadia Bay."

"I would do it again, Chloe. I'd always choose you, again and again."

"You're hella awesome, Max! It's you and me until the end. Partners in time!"

"I wouldn't want it with anyone else."

Chloe grins.

The memory fades.

 _Fin._


End file.
